


Travels

by Cookies_101



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Ahmya Kawashiro (OC), Also I can’t write smut, But no more than that because I am a good CLAP Christian CLAP child CLAP, F/M, Fluff, Joseph Perez (OC), Romance, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22583719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_101/pseuds/Cookies_101
Summary: It’s been a year since the events of the Chimera Ant arc. The Chimera ants have been dubbed an almost harmless species. The former king is now exploring the world with his Gungi-playing silver-haired lover.They never died in this AU. *Silent sobbing*
Relationships: Komugi/Meruem
Comments: 22
Kudos: 185





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We need more Meruem and Komugi content y’all.

The cold storm raged as Meruem ran through the woods, Komugi over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Meruem-San! Where are we going!?” She asked, sniffling a bit. He sighed, annoyed by the honorific, though it was better than Supreme Leader or Meruem-sama. The blind girl had heard the crashes of thunder,but did not see it as much of a threat. Her newly acquired lover on the other hand…

“Shelter. Your immune system is fragile, and this weather may make your cold even worse”, he answered, as the rain poured. Komugi smiled, he was so worried about her, what had she done to deserve him? They had been travelling for a week now, Meruem wished to explore this world and wanted no one else but Komugi with him. Unfortunately, their luggage had been lost by airport staff. They had no spare clothes, no food and unfortunately, no Gungi board.So, they would have to find a hotel to stay in while waiting for a call when it was retrieved. The airport they had landed in was in the middle of nowhere and since they did not have enough money for a taxi to the town, they were searching for a dryspot to stay the night.

He stopped, and the rain seemed to stop abruptly, but could still be heard, they seemed to be under a roof, a carport perhaps. Meruem put the shorter girl down on the ground. “The sign on this building says, ‘Westwood Church’, Komugi what is a church?”, He asked. So, he hadn’t read about religion yet, Komugi herself did not belong to any religion, but she’d try her best to explain. “A church is a house of worship for a god. We humans have things we call religions, we believe that one god or several, depending on the religion, exist and are almighty. This here is a church for the Christian god”, she said, her frowning as she felt a sneeze coming. “So, like a king, but only believed to exist? That is…pathetic”, he mumbled.

Since the Chimera ants were deemed almost harmless (Took many months and a lot of reformation programs) Mereum and his guards had tried to be less criticizing of human antics, but there were some things he did not seem to understand. It did not mean that people did not look at them in fear and or bewilderment when they passed by. “Nevertheless, we should take shelter inside, you need to warm up”, he stated, leading the girl to the door. It was quite the simple church, with brown wooden pews and an alter up front. A crucifix carved in wood hung on the wall. “A man nailed to a wooden board…”, Meruem mumbled, gods were more barbaric than he thought.

They sat down on one of the pews, both absolutely drenched. Komugi had it worse, as she was wearing more clothes that were soaked in cold water. “You should remove your clothes, they will only make you more ill”, Meruem said. Komugi squeaked and blushed. “N-No I couldn’t possibly undress in front of you!” She stammered. Mereum lifted an eyebrow, they were just clothes. “Why?” She blushed even more “B-Because, for some humans, being without clothes around others can be…”, Kogumi bit her bottom lip. She did not know how to explain this to him, they had only been lovers for a few weeks and of course her mind had sometimes wandered to _that._ Her mother had said to wait until she was married, well she had told her other daughters that. She did not believe that any man would marry Komugi.

Komugi herself was not sure, it was a part of being in a relationship and it…did not sound terrible if it was with Meruem... Oh! She had been pondering for too long. “I understand, you could change in another part of this room and I will find something dry to cover you”, Meruem said, standing up. Suddenly, he felt a presence. He looked to Komugi, she was still sitting on the pew, twisting her hair to get the water out. He walked up to the alter, every part of him was prepared for battle, or rather, to protect Komugi. A door on the left wall opened and two people stepped out. One was a tan human male, with brown hair and mismatched eyes. The other was a tall human female, with long black hair and matte dark blue eyes. A black surgical mask, with a zipper in the middle, covered her mouth and nose. “I welcome you to the Westwood church, I’m Joseph Perez and I’m the pastor, this is my assistant Ahmya Kawashiro”, he gestured to the girl. She bowed slightly and spoke: “Welcome”. Meruem was surprised, they did not seem alarmed by his appearance, as most humans did.

Kogumi immediately got up and bowed several times. “I-I’m so sorry! The s-storm was so bad! We’ll leave immediately”, she said, believing that she was being rude. Joseph chuckled “No worries, this happens all the time, you two can stay until it’s over, follow us”, he said motioning at the door they had come out from. Meruem walked back to Kogumi, who had stood up and grabbed her cane. He took her other hand and led her to the door. “Oh…you are blind, I presume?” The woman named Ahmya remarked. “Y-Yes Kawashiro-San”, Komugi answered.

“Please do call me Ahmya”, the woman said. Komugi nodded: “I’m so sorry!”

They had been led through a hallway to a fully furnished living room, it seemed that the church was connected to their home. “Please make yourselves comfortable”, Joseph said, gesturing to a couch. Meruem sat down, Komugi beside him. “What are your names?” The young pastor asked, taking a seat in an armchair. “I-I’m Komugi and this is Meruem, m-m-my b-boyfriend”, She stuttered out, the last word was almost a whisper, her cheeks were bright red. Meruem felt his own cheeks heat up, that word was what humans used to describe male partners. He felt his heart start to beat faster, her referring to him like that…it made him feel…happy. “Pleased to meet you two, Komugi-chan, would you like to come with me to find you some dry clothes?” Ahmya asked. The white-haired girl shook her head “I assume that those will be your clothes, you shouldn’t waste them on me”, she stated. Her own clothing was still drenched. Meruem sighed, she always assumed she was undeserving of good things that she was offered. “Please say yes, Komugi, I do not want you getting ill”, Meruem said, taking her hand.

Komugi was about to protest, then slowly nodded, happy that he cared so much for her. Ahmya led Komugi down the hall. They entered a bedroom and Kogmui heard a swoosh as the closet door was slid open. “What do you like to wear?” Ahmya asked, as she browsed the closet. “Whatever you choose to give me is fine, you’re very kind for doing this!” Komugi spoke. Ahmya hummed as the clinging of hangers was heard. “Most of what I wear is black, is that alright? I mean it could go good with your hair”, the tall woman remarked, pulling out something. Komugi nodded, she knew that her hair was white…she had just never seen white. But she recalled that Meruem had described her hair as radiant, she smiled softly. Something was thrown into her arms, it was soft and felt knitted. “It’s a sweater, for me at least. You’re a tad shorter so it will be a dress on you, there are a pair of stockings as well”, Ahmya said, walking past her. “I’ll wait outside while you change”.

Komugi nodded and thanked her one more time.

She stepped out after changing, the garment went to right above her knees, shorter than she was used to. But it was nice and warm, the stockings were cotton and pretty comfortable. She had let her hair down, as it would dry faster. “Thank you so much, Kawashi- Ahmya-San!” She said, bowing. Ahmya’s eyes squinted in a way that meant that she was smiling under the mask. “No problem, you wear it better than me! But it needs something, wait here”, the tall female said, walking back into the room. Komugi felt Ahmya’s hands at the back of her head, putting something in her hair. She felt it, it was a silk bow. “Sorry, just thought it’d look good. You look cute”, she said. Komugi’s voice raised in pitch and volume. “C-Cute!? T-Thank you very much but I’m not cute! You’re too kind!” She said, covering her pink face.

Ahmya chuckled “You remind of my little sister! How old are you, Komugi-chan?” Komugi put down her hands “I-I’m 19!” Ahmya stayed silent for a bit…her mouth agape. “Then you’re a year older than me, wow”, she mumbled, walking to the living room with Kogumi in tow.

Mereum sat the small dining table, as Joseph put different dishes down. He still could not trust these strangers; he knew he could easily kill them both but being on guard was essential. He shook his head, thoughts like that belonged to his old self. Him before Komugi made him human, made him feel things like happiness and empathy, she was his savior. “Nice! Chili con carne!” Ahmya exclaimed, as she walked into the room. “It smells really good!” Komugi remarked behind her. Ahmya stepped aside, letting the smaller girl pass. Mereum almost dropped the glass of water he was holding.

This was very different from her usual clothing. The black, knitted dress showed off her legs, which were covered by black and white striped stockings. Her hair was down and Meruem could spot a black bow on the back of her head. It was…incredibly cute and more form-fitting then her usual pink cotton dress. He felt his heart beat faster, how could a new outfit have such an effect on him? He took his fork and picked at the odd dish in front of him, looking down to hide his blushing face. “Ah, looks like you did find something, you look nice, Miss Komugi”, Joseph said, taking his seat at the table. Mereum turned to the other man, squinting, a maddened look in his eyes, he felt the fork snap in half in his fist.

“Woah…well at least it wasn’t the silverware”, Ahmya fetched another fork from the kitchen. Joseph looked frightened, keeping his head down. Mereum cursed internally, he was supposed to not frighten them. But he had just felt…well he couldn’t place it. He cleared his throat, looking up. “You look pretty, Komugi”, he said, managing not to stutter. He was one of the strongest beings on this planet and yet he could barely keep it together when complimenting his lover. Komugi smiled widely at his comment.

“So, why were you guys running through a storm?” Joseph asked, shoving a small tomato into his mouth. “We are travelling, our airship landed at an airport in a quite remote area, the staff lost our luggage, so we had no money go get to a town”, Meruem explained, he was still quite annoyed at the staff’s carelessness. “Oh, if you had gone into town you wouldn’t have found a place to stay, all hotels are packed because of the tournament”, Joseph spoke. Komugi tilted her head. “What tournament?”

“A Gungi tournament, a huge money prize is given out. They tried to get some Gungi master to participate, but had no way of contacting her, unfortunately some participants didn’t get the message, apparently not many people have seen this woman, her skills are said to be godly”, Ahmya stated, putting a forkful of rice and meat though the unzipped zipper in her mask. She had made this woman sound like a legend from an old folktale.Komugi gasped in joy. “Gungi?! Where?! When?!”, She practically sparkled. She did not seem to care that it was likely her that Ahmya had described. Meruem chuckled, Kogumi always lit up, when Gungi was involved.

“At the sports hall, in Lillydale, tomorrow at 2PM. It’s about 10 kilometers from here”, The dark-haired woman said. “Oh, we have to go! I haven’t been to a tournament in ages!” Komugi exclaimed, shaking with excitement. “If we leave tonight, we can make it!” She said. Meruem almost laughed, she really did underestimate him sometimes. With his speed, they could leave at 1:30 tomorrow and still be early. “You are forgetting the storm; we should not leave until it is over”, he said, putting his hand over hers. She frowned. Meruem hated disappointing her, but he would not allow her to get sicker. Komugi was admittedly sad, her hands itched for the feel of a Gungi coin. But Meruem was right, she already had a bad cold and the powerful wind and rain would make it even worse.

Ahmya spoke up. “We can drive you, we are heading into that town tomorrow anyway”. Komugi gleamed once more. “You’d do that? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She practically shouted. Ahmya and Joseph both smiled. “No problem, now how about you two go and get some rest, you can take a bath if you want”, Joseph offered. Meruem turned to Komugi. “Please go and take a hot bath, it will help your cold”, he stated. It was not a command, more like a loving piece of advice. Komugi nodded, she scarfed the rest of her meal down and stood up. “Oh wait! I don’t know where the bathroom is…”, she mumbled.

Once Ahmya had led her there and drawn a rose-scented bath for her, the tall female returned. They resumed the rest of the meal in silence. Meruem still wondered, why were they not alarmed? Did not know of Chimera Ants? He decided to voice his opinion. “Do you…know what I am?” He asked the couple. Joseph leaned back in his chair. “Chimera Ant, right? At first, I thought lizard person, but you don’t have scales”, he said, nonchalantly. Meruem’s eyes widened, they were aware but not afraid. “Your appearance is a mix of a lot of different species, it’s the most logical conclusion”, Ahmya spoke, sipping her water. “You are not alarmed?”

Joseph began laughing. “You’re a scary dude, but the whole man-eating creature thing isn’t what scares me”, he grinned. “We have had our fair share of experiences with magical beasts, we are hunters”, Ahmya said, blowing on a fried potato to cool it off. They spoke so casually, the voices of two people who had been through a lot together. Meruem smiled a bit, in a way, they were like him and Komugi.

Komugi hummed as the warm water swirled round her. A hot bath was just what she needed after the cold rain. The calming scent of roses filled the room, she reminisced of the day where she had gone to the hot springs with her family, it had been the day after she had won a local Gungi tournament, earning them a nice sum of money. They had used it to go to the hot springs. Unfortunately, her farther had not allowed her to actually go in the water, but the steam had been nice. After about 10 minutes the water was getting cool. She decided to get out of the tub. The white-haired woman carefully held onto the edge, placing her feet on the bathmat, one at a time. Komugi bent down and picked up the big towel that Ahmya had given her. She wrapped the soft towel around herself, securing it tightly at the top. She felt around for her borrowed clothes and found the garments.

She stepped off the bathmat and, of course, did not notice the small puddle of soapy water on the tiled floor. Komugi let out a yell as she slipped, closing her eyes to prepare for her body to crash to the floor. In what seemed like a nanosecond, the door was thrown open and Meruem stood in the doorway, he wrapped his tail around her waist, right as she her head was about to collide with the edge of the porcelain tub. Kogumi breathed in and out quickly, but soon calm down as she felt the warm body part around her. “T-Thank you, Meruem”, she breathily said. She had forgotten the honorific. “Are you hurt?!” He asked, pulling her to him, his tail still around her. The woman shook her head. “N-No, you saved me!” She smiled.This reminded her of that time almost a year ago, when that bird had attacked her. He had swatted it away, as though it were a fly. Of course, there was no way to kill what hurt her, since it was a puddle of water. Kogumi chuckled internally.

Meruem let go of her, making sure that she was stable on her feet first. “I’m so glad”, he said, smiling in relief. He then realized the gravity of the situation. Komugi was clothed in nothing but a towel, that was beginning to slip down, after he had pulled his tail off of her. She quickly covered her chest, attempting to hold up the towel. Meruem felt his heart speed up, this warm-no burning feeling. A sort of…desire. The Chimera Ant turned his back to her, blushing furiously. “I-I apologize! I will wait outside!” He closed the door behind him. Kogumi was left red-faced, sure the situation was embarrassing…but not terrible. It sparked something within her, something new, a want. Oh god, what was she even thinking?! The woman decided to let it be for now and focus on getting dressed. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Sorry for taking so long to update, this whole quarantine is draining,  
> I hope you're all staying safe.

Ahmya and Joseph had a small guestroom, that they let the odd couple stay in. The bed was not very big, but since Komugi was short and small, there was enough room for both of them. Komugi had been given a long-sleeved nightgown to sleep in by Ahmya. Mereum, despite having no actual need for it, had decided to take a quick shower. In reality, he did not want to smell unpleasant when sleeping next to Komugi.

Meruem entered the room and saw Komugi already under the covers, basking in the warmth. He smiled and approached her.

“Are you comfortable?” He asked. Komugi nodded

“Mhm!” Her voice was muffled against the pillow. Meruem sat down on the bed, then proceeded to get under the covers as well. They had shared a bed before, but the incident in the bathroom had made it feel slightly different. Komugi rolled to face him, smiling. Meruem smiled back, though Komugi could not see it. He cautiously put a hand on her soft face, cupping her cheek. She blushed, leaning into the touch. Mereum sighed in delight, Komugi was so adorable. She blushed even more as she scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Komugi collected enough courage to place the tiniest, softest of butterfly kisses on his lips.

She turned redder than a tomato and hid her face in the blanket.

“I-I’m so sorry Meruem-san! I don’t know what came over me!” She babbled on. Meruem softly touched his own lips, he too was blushing.

“Don’t be sorry, I liked it”, he said, his tail had started wagging, he quickly pushed it out of the covers to stop it from making much noise. He didn’t recall having canine in him but apparently it was there. Komugi looked overjoyed, they had kissed before but Meruem had been the one to initiate it.  
  


They ended up drifting to sleep in each other’s arms.

The next morning, they ate breakfast with their hosts and started to get ready for the Gungi tournament. Meruem, having nothing to do, picked a few books from Ahmya’s bookshelf. They had quite a lot of books on magical beasts, religion and the occult.

Meanwhile Komugi was making the bed in the guestroom. The woman heard a knock at the door. “Come in!” She chimed. The door was opened and Komugi heard footsteps that most likely belonged to heeled boots, if she’d have to guess.

“Ahmya-san?” Komugi asked, fluffing one of the pillows.

“Correct, I have come to give you something. The tournament will be on live television, I have this dress that I believe would look nice on you”, The black-haired girl answered.

Komugi finished making the bed and turned around.

“That’s so kind of you! You shouldn’t though, I might get it dirty!” Komugi said, rubbing the back of her neck. Ahmya chuckled slightly, there she went again.

“I insist! I ordered it in the wrong color and size, so please, take it”, she said, handing Komugi a neatly-folded garment.

Komugi smiled “Thank you, Ahmya-san!”

After Komugi had put on the dress, Ahmya had sat her down to help her with her hair. The dark-haired girl ran the comb through her new friend’s white locks, humming lightly.

“A-Ahmya-san? CanI ask you something?” Komugi said.

“W-Why are you being so nice to me? You just met me, after all” Komugi stammered out. Ahmya put down the comb and sighed.

“You remind me of someone, at first I thought it was my little sister, but you are quite different from her. You remind me of myself from a long time ago”, the girl answered smiling weakly under her mask. Komugi tilted her head. She could tell by Ahmya’s tone of voice, that this was a sensitive topic and decided to not ask any further questions. She did speak up about something else.

“D-Do you think…that Meruem-san will like it?”

Ahmya hummed in thought.

“Well I do not know of his tastes, but I am sure that he will! Joseph tell me that I look pretty in anything that I wear!” She answered.

“Huh? You’re a couple?”

“Why yes, is that not apparent?” The tall girl asked.

Komugi shook her head: “Eh well…not really? I’m sorry! That was rude!” She said, the last bit was more of an exclamation. Ahmya chuckled.

“No, I see what you mean, we are not very openly affectionate, but I can tell you that he is a big fan of cuddling in private!” She smiled.

Ahmya examined her work. Komugi had been but in a pastel yellow dress with white frills on the hem and sleeves. The collar was also white and had a bow in the middle. Her hair had been brushed thoroughly and some it had been pinned back. There was a knock at the door.

“Come on girls! We’re gonna be late!” Joseph said. Ahmya opened the door to reveal Joseph with Meruem behind him. Ahmya stepped outside to dramatically reveal her work. 

Meruem was pretty sure he could faint on the spot. Komugi looked so unbelievably cute in that dress. Well she always looked cute, but the outfit brought it out more. She smiled

“How do I look?” She asked, doing a little 360-degree spin. Meruem’s breathing hitched and he felt his face become heated.

“Beautiful…absolutely gorgeous”, he breathed, his tail wagging like crazy, almost hitting Joseph in the face (which could have smashed his head to bits). Komugi’s raised her eyebrows high and her face turned scarlet.

“Beau-…Beautiful?! Please, you’re being too kind!!”, her voice rose and fell in volume, as she spoke. She held her hands to her burning cheeks. Joseph laughed

“Enough of you two lovebirds! Let’s get moving”, he spoke.

Ahmya walked beside Komugi as they exited the church.

“Do not get so flustered, compliments like that are common in a relationship”, she said. They reached the car and Joseph looked at the dark-haired girl and smiled.

“You look super pretty today, Ahmya!” He grinned. Ahmya, usually composed, smiled widely under her mask and her cheeks turned pink. Komugi giggled, as they got into the vehicle.

Meruem looked out the window of the backseat, taking it all in. They drove down a forest path, the car bumping up and down, as they drove down the rocky way. The storm had cleared up and had brought sunshine and clear skies. The warm rays shone through the flourishing trees, casting shadows on the dewy grass. The car exited the forest and was down driving down a deserted highway. Suddenly, Joseph looked very excited, he poked at Ahmya, who was driving.

“Can we get McDonald’s? Please?”, he asked, making his best attempting at puppy eyes. Ahmya sighed and pulled into the restaurant’s drive-through.

“What are we doing? What is this place?”, Merum asked, looking at the building’s bright yellow sign.

“We’re getting food!” Joseph said excitedly. They pulled up to the speaker.

“Hello, may I get one black coffee-

Ahmya was interrupted.

“And two boxes of nuggets! With ketchup!” Joseph exclaimed. Ahmya rolled her eyes. 

After getting their food, they drove off. Meruem stared at the white box he had been given. It contained greasy-looking lumps of meat. It smelled bland to him. Komugi picked up one of the pieces and nibbled on it lightly. She seemed to enjoy the taste. Meruem turned his head to the front seat. Joseph held some of the fried meat to Ahmya’s unzipped mask.“Say ahhhh”, he snorted. Ahmya bit into the meat and giggled. Meruem wondered, was this common for couples? He picked up one of the so-called ‘Nuggets’, it was damp and hard. He turned to Komugi and held out the piece in front of her face.

“Komugi, say ahhh”, he said, his voice monotonal.

“W-What?” She asked, sniffling. Meruem put the nugget under her nose, revealing its presence to her.

“Say ahh”, he repeated, softer this time. Komugi blushed brightly and covered her face. Meruem raised an eyebrow. Was this not an ordinary thing for human couples to do?

Meanwhile Komugi was internally (and externally) freaking out. Should she let him feed her? Would that really be okay? He was king after all, not to mention a superior being in every way. But granted…he was her boyfriend. She inhaled and took a bite of the nugget, quickly pulling back.

Meruem smiled contently, that was surprisingly adorable.

The car stopped in a large parking lot; they had arrived in Lillydale.

“Alright, let’s go”, Joseph said, opening the car door.

Komugi beamed, she was so ready to play Gungi again!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for not updating in awhile. I had to do theist school-related thing and I just came back from vacation. I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry it's a bit short!

They had parked right outside of the large convention center, that the tournament was being held at.

“Despite being a tiny town, Lillydale has a lot of conventions and events, you should have seen the chaos at last year’s horror festival”, Joseph said, looking up at the center as he seemed to have a flashback. Meruem looked at the grey building, people were pouring in and out. Most of the attendants were older, there were a film crew as well and a female reporter doing interviews outside of the center.

Komugi was buzzing with excitement, eager to feel the smooth surface of a Gungi chip in her hand. As per usual, people were staring intensely at Meruem. Some with wonder and some with fear. Humanoid magical beasts were not very common in general and to see one in the middle of a small, countryside town. The reporter had completely walked away from the man she was previously interviewing, followed by her cameraman. 

“Excuse me sir! What are you? Are you here to play? Do you hope to win or are you here to see the infamous Gungi master? Are you sure you would be allowed in?”, The woman spoke fast, in an obviously exaggerated, high ‘cute’ voice. She shoved the microphone into Meruem’s face. The range of questions were of mix of rude and ordinary. Meruem scoffed internally but remained emotionless on the outside. The old him would have swatted the woman away with his tail, not having any regard if she was injured or not. But he was not who he started out as.

“Please do not film me”, he spoke and continued waking with his group. The reporter slapped the cameraman’s arm and he immediately began following Meruem. Ahmya put a hand on her belt, eyeing the man.

“No, this is not a stab-situation”, Joseph whispered to her, removing her hand. Komugi was really confused about it all and clearly uncomfortable as well. Meruem stopped walking and turned around, the man smiled innocently and pretended to be filming something behind Meruem. The chimera ant scoffed, and his tail shot forward, the stinger piercing through the lens of the camera and it probably damaged the mechanics inside as well.

“So, he gets to stab”, Ahmya mumbled, crossing her arms as Joseph kissed her temple in apology.

The odd group walked into the center, leaving the reporter and cameraman to mourn over the lost footage.

Ahmya helped Komugi fill out the application form for the tournament, as Joseph and Meruem bought snacks. Well Joseph was buying the snacks, Meruem was looking around at the hall. There were tall bleachers on the sides and the middle was filled with dozens of gungi boards, divided into three sections with tape. The former king guessed that it was a type of competition where you battled to build yourself up to a higher, more difficult battles with tougher opponents. He had no doubt that Komugi would crush every single one of these people. They all sat on bleachers, Komugi was anxiously waiting in the line for the contestants. A bell was rung, and the tournament officially began. An announcer narrated some of the more intense matches, with seemingly famous participants. Komugi’s first opponent was a man in his late 40s, he smiled politely and sat down across from her. She explained her situation and asked him to announce his moves.

“Please don’t cry when you lose, I can’t stand seeing children cry”, his smile soon turned condescending.

“I’ll tell you if you place them wrong”, he laughed and Meruem tried his best to resist the urge to go down there and shut him up permanently. Joseph held down Ahmya’s hand, making sure that she didn’t reach for the knife in her belt.

**( AN: I frankly don’t understand any strategical game at all, much less a fictional one. So, I’ll just skip through the Gungi matches)**

“So, when her eyes open, shit goes down?”, Joseph said, munching on a potato chip. They all watched as the man frowned at being weeded out so early. He left to join the other people who lost the first round. Komugi closed her eyes, ready to mov on to the next round. Meruem smiled, this was only going to be the start of her great victory, Komugi was brilliant.

Again, and again, match after match, Komugi emerged victorious. The announcer had even become distracted from the more intense matches. The hall was completely quiet, cheers and yells dying out as the final round started. The participants in this round were all seemingly masters and prodigies. Low whispers could still be heard around the bleachers.

“Do you guys think that’s her?”

“She’s blind and yet she’s incredible…”

“I had no idea that the Gungi master was so young!”

The first match of the final round started, the crowd was waiting with baited breaths, ready for the next move…


	4. Chapter 4 (Finale chapter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, you know I told myself I'd not be like those authors that wait forever to update. I'm really sorry, I started high school and it sure is keeping me busy. 
> 
> Happy Holidays!

“Welcome to the 23rd annual Lillydale Gungi tournament! We return from the break with the final contestants! This year has been particularly exciting, has it not? Now, the final four!” The announcer stood on a slightly elevated platform in the middle of the hall. Behind her stood the two contestants: A high schooler known for being a Gungi prodigy, he adjusted his glasses and looking over the crowd with a cold expression. But you could practically smell the excitement coming from the kid.

Komugi stood on the other side of the announcer, leaning onto the cane.

“Young people have really changed!” A woman whispered to the man beside her.

Meruem crossed his arms, Kogumi was not like any young human he’d met. Not that he had met many. She was ambitious, selfless, kind and strong. He wouldn’t want to spend his days with anyone else. Meruem knew what would have happened to him, had she not been there to give him humanity.

“Meruem! The match’s about to start, quit checking Komugi out”, Joseph said, patting Meruem’s shoulder. He grinned and looked to Ahmya.

“Isn’t young love beautiful?”

The former king…well he wasn’t sure what happened. His cheeks felt slightly warm, he surely didn’t get ill, his immune system was far too strong for weak sicknesses.

“Let the last match begin!”

“Miss Komugi, how old are you?”, The gungi prodigy asked, placing another chip down, following the motion with an announcement of the placement.

Komugi picked up a chip from her pile, letting her finger slide over the engraving.

“I am 19”, she responded, river-green eyes staring blankly. Well, they were not staring at all.

The boy hummed, overlooking her move.

“You have been a master for a long time, yes? Perhaps a bit too long”, he said, looking up at the silver-haired woman in front of him. She placed her chip down, the slight click echoing through the eerily quiet hall. Everyone was unimaginably focused on the match; you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

Meruem scoffed at the boy’s words, Komugi deserved to bear the title forver, he was sure that she would go down in history.

“I don’t understand what you mean by that”, Komugi spoke. The prodigy smiled, pushing up his thin-rimmed glasses.

“It’s about time that someone knocked you off of your throne, we have both beaten the same number of opponents to get here, but I believe someone like me will prevail. I was never recognized for my talent and I had to fight, good lord, I had to fight. But you, you’ve probably given up on practicing, since you automatically win”, he said.

“This dude’s giving up his background story already…”, Joseph mumbled, handing an unopened soda to Ahmya. Meruem clenched his fist, how could that stupid child say such things?! Komugi was more determined than anyone, she practiced daily, beating Meruem every time. He wanted to go down there and throw the weak teen trough the wall.

Komugi put down her chip, the match nearing its end.

“I can’t appreciate words like yours…though you deserve your title of prodigy, you are still missing something”, she said.

The boy tilted his head, scoffing a bit.

“What could I be missing? I’ve perfected my techniques to the finest detail”.

Komugi picked up her last chip, placing it on the board with the signature click of the stone hitting the wooden board.

“Checkmate…”

The prodigy looked down at the board in disbelief, Komugi had indeed won.

“N-No, no I’ve trained for 3 years for this! You’re just lucky! It can’t be! It ca-“, the boy was stopped in the middle of his rant by Komugi. She fumbled for his hand, putting her own over it. She closed her eyes, her lips curling up into a little smile.

“What’s your name? I never learned it” Komugi asked.

“What…my name? I-It’s Kenji”, he mumbled, adjusting his glasses nervously.

“Kenji-san, I admire your dedication to Gungi, you’re a skilled young man. But you’ve forgotten one crucial detail. Losing is part of practice. When you experience loss, it fuels you to push forward, to become better. But you also must have respect for you opponent and their skills, you need to be humble, or else how will anyone value you as a fair opponent?”. She took her hand away and placed it in her lap. Komugi got up from her kneeling position and picked up her cane. She walked out of the round three zone, leaving Kenji to think by the Gungi board.

“Okay…the winner is Miss Komugi!” The announcer yelled, about as confused as everyone else in the hall.

Komugi walked out of the center, accompanied by Meruem, Joseph and Ahmya. Meruem looked down at her, the ghost of a smile on his face. Ahmya grabbed Joseph’s hand, pulling him a bit ahead of the other couple. Meruem silently thanked her in the form of a slight nod.

He took Komugi’s significantly smaller hand, incredibly careful as to not squeeze it to hard. Her cheeks turned red and she responded by leaning against Meruem.

“So, you guys like ice cream?” Joseph asked, turning to face them. He pointed towards a small, pastel-colored ice cream parlor.

“I don’t think either of us have tried it…”, Komugi answered. Joseph got out his wallet.

“My treat! I’ll be right back!”

They ended up finding a bench near the parlor, Ahmya sat away from the other two, feeling as though they needed privacy. Meruem looked down at the young woman, who was holding his hand.

“What will you do with the prize money?” He asked, remembering the hefty sum of 10 million Jenny listed as the first-place prize. Previously he had no knowledge of currency, believing strength to be the thing of the highest value. Komugi hummed and put a hand under her chin, as if she was stroking an imaginary beard.

“I really don’t know, maybe I’ll donate to charity”, she said. Meruem tilted his head, that was a word he had not heard or read before.

“Oh! Right…it’s giving money to people in need”, Komugi explained, she hadheard of people coming to her small town with clothes and food from some big charity organization, her family had never gotten anything tough, but she had heard how happy it made other families.

“What a selfless act, you truly are amazing”, Meruem said, turning to her.

Komugi blushed and laughed.

“Oh Meruem…san, I’m just like everybody else!” The chimera shook his head at that foolish statement.

“You are a goddess among humans”, he said. Komugi smiled, leaning against him. Joseph returned with four paper cups of ice cream. Ahmya put a hand on his arm.

“Did he find your stash of romance novels? He is smooth, as they say”, she asked, it was clearly a joke, but her monotone voice was present.

They booth looked over at the odd couple, the sun began to set.


End file.
